Judith Is 4!

A couple months ago, I was thinking about party plans because I knew Judith's birthday was coming up, but time really flew by, and here we are. Each birthday has been interesting emotionally, but this year I didn't have my normal thoughts about all of the events that led up to Judith's birth,save for 1 moment on Monday when I commented that the weather did the same freaky thing that it did exactly 4 years ago to the day: unusually warm temperatures in the mid-60s with rain.

The last couple of days, though, I had a mind blowing realization that helped put some things in perspective. At her last weigh in, Judith was 32 lbs. I'm not sure what her current weight is since we did not have her well child visit yet, but regardless, that means she is at least 16 times her birthweight. 16 times! Considering how much she's struggled with weight gain from day 1, having that figure sink in made me realize how far she has come in the last 4 years. Yes, the road has been frustrating, to say the least, but today I could put aside the stress and frustration over getting her to and maintaining a good weight for her health and celebrate her progress!

4 years ago, it was hard to imagine the future, even one as "close" as today. We were so focused on her survival and obtaining the ultimate goal of discharge from the NICU that I never imagined I'd have this sassy, funny preschooler who loves to talk, who is obsessed with Thomas & Friends and VeggieTales, and is such a bundle of energy who wears me out by dinner time each day. There is still a long, long road ahead of her, and many battles left to fight, both with some lingering preemie issues and with CF, but for today we pushed all of that aside and focused on her accomplishments and who she has developed into.

Happy 4th birthday, Judith!